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Semantic Constraints on Relative Clause Extraposition

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Abstract

Extraposed relative clauses pose certain problems for movement-based analyses. They seem to be insensitive to island constraints, and show intricate interactions with variable binding. Starting from the assumption that complement and modifier extraposition should not be treated alike, I present an analysis of relative clause extraposition that does not rely on movement. Instead, I assume that the same syntactic and semantic constraints interact to determine the grammaticality of both extraposed and non-extraposed relative clauses. Syntactically, the proposed constraints lead to the configurational superiority of the relative clause. This superiority has its origin in the semantics of the relative clause: the relative pronoun is referentially defective and remedies this deficiency by selecting an appropriate antecedent. The present analysis draws on data from German.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ruhr-Universität, Bochum Sprachwissenschaftliches Institut, D-44780, Bochum, Germany

    Tibor Kiss

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  1. Tibor Kiss
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Correspondence to Tibor Kiss.

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For comments and suggestions, I would like to thank Andrea Dauer, Bart Geurts, Hubert Haider, Winfried Lechner, Gereon Müller, Stefan Müller, and Josef Taglicht, as well as seven anonymous reviewers. I am extremely grateful to Peter W.␣Culicover, who spent a lot of time and effort to make this paper readable.

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Kiss, T. Semantic Constraints on Relative Clause Extraposition. Nat Lang Linguist Theory 23, 281–334 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-003-1838-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-003-1838-7

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